Anniversary Series: Cinema Paradiso

Fri, Jun 8

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Written & Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore; Academy-Award for Best Foreign Language Film (1988); PG-13; 120 min.; Italian with English subtitles.

At 30 years old Cinema Paradiso is still a life-affirming ode to the power of youth, nostalgia, and the movies themselves, the story begins in the present as a Sicilian mother pines for her estranged son, Salvatore, who left many years ago and has since become a prominent Roman film director. He finally returns to his home village to attend the funeral of the town’s former film projectionist, Alfredo, and in so doing, embarks upon a journey into his boyhood just after WWII when he became the man’s official son. Thirty years later, Salvatore has come to say goodbye to his life-long friend, who has left him a little gift in a film can. “It is, in a word, exquisite.” —Rita Kempley, Washington Post